Young Entrepreneur Opens Up Restaurant, Looks to Expand

Michael Nikolaidis, owner of the Egg House, stands behind the counter recently. The restaurant serves only breakfast and lunch and is open from 6:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. Nikolaidis is the nephew of Manny Nikolaidis, founder of Manny's Chophouse.

Published: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 12:46 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 12:46 a.m.

Nikolaidis opened the Egg House restaurant at 19301 U.S. 27 in Lake Wales on June 25, and already he's planning to expand the business into a restaurant chain.

"I'm not looking now, but I know where I want to go," said Nikolaidis, 25, who did not want to reveal his future plans. "What I like about the restaurant business is you get to meet a lot of nice people. Also, it's a job where you never get bored."

While the young entrepreneur faces significant obstacles in expanding his breakfast-lunch restaurant, it would be tough to count him out yet given his family lineage of successful restaurateurs.

Nikolaidis is the nephew of Manny Nikolaidis, who founded the very successful Manny's Chophouse steak restaurant chain in Lakeland, Winter Haven, Haines City and Lake Wales. His father, also Manny Nikolaidis, runs the Lake Wales restaurant.

His grandfather, John Houvardas, for decades ran the popular John's Restaurant in Bartow and the Sea Flame in Winter Haven, Nikolaidis said. He learned from all three how to build a successful restaurant.

"I think everything in the restaurant business starts from the kitchen. If the cooks are not trained properly, you're not going to be successful," he said.

Part of the Egg House's success so far — it draws an average of 450 people per day in a restaurant that seats up to 81 people — is that he hired cooks from the Manny's chain, Nikolaidis said.

And if the customer is not happy with the food, it's up to the manager to make him or her happy by offering to redo the order or offering another dish, said Nikolaidis, who walks the floor frequently checking on customers.

The success of Manny's Chophouse did not mean his father and uncle gave the younger Nikolaidis a free pass in the restaurant business, he said.

Beginning at age 15, Mike Nikolaidis worked as a dishwasher, then a food preparer, cook, bartender and server, he said. Then he began helping his father manage the Lake Wales Manny's, including menu creation, ordering food and handling employees.

Still, creating a chain of restaurants serving only breakfast and lunch remains a daunting challenge, said Larry Ross, a business professor at Florida Southern College and former restaurant owner and consultant. Return on investment is one of the big challenges because restaurants don't make that much money on breakfast and lunch.

"Dinner is a longer meal. "We're willing to pay more for dinner because it's longer and customers will buy desserts, drinks and other things," Ross said. "It just doesn't generate enough profit to finance growth."

The few breakfast-lunch chains that have been s uccessful, such as the First Watch restaurant based in Bradenton or Another Broken Egg Cafe, a national chain out of Louisiana, choose locations in higher-income areas, often near a Whole Foods supermarket or Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that also attracts the high-end customer, he said.

This allows those restaurants to offer costlier, high-end breakfasts, such as the Broken Egg Cafe in Destin, whose menu lists a "lobster et fromage" omelet for $15, according to its website.

The chain has six Panhandle locations and plans to open a Winter Park restaurant in January.

By contrast, restaurants like the Egg House rely on breakfasts and lunches less than $10 and quick turnaround of the tables, Ross said.

Still, he added, some chains have found success in breakfast, notably McDonald's, which generates 40 percent of its revenue from the day's first meal.

"They do it fast, and they do it inexpensive," Ross said. "They've mastered the breakfast."

The Egg House, on the southeast corner of U.S. 27 at the State Road 60 interchange, serves from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<p>LAKE WALES | Unlike Humpty Dumpty, egg entrepreneur Mike Nikolaidis has no fear of falling.</p><p>Nikolaidis opened the Egg House restaurant at 19301 U.S. 27 in Lake Wales on June 25, and already he's planning to expand the business into a restaurant chain.</p><p>"I'm not looking now, but I know where I want to go," said Nikolaidis, 25, who did not want to reveal his future plans. "What I like about the restaurant business is you get to meet a lot of nice people. Also, it's a job where you never get bored."</p><p>While the young entrepreneur faces significant obstacles in expanding his breakfast-lunch restaurant, it would be tough to count him out yet given his family lineage of successful restaurateurs.</p><p>Nikolaidis is the nephew of Manny Nikolaidis, who founded the very successful Manny's Chophouse steak restaurant chain in Lakeland, Winter Haven, Haines City and Lake Wales. His father, also Manny Nikolaidis, runs the Lake Wales restaurant.</p><p>His grandfather, John Houvardas, for decades ran the popular John's Restaurant in Bartow and the Sea Flame in Winter Haven, Nikolaidis said. He learned from all three how to build a successful restaurant.</p><p>"I think everything in the restaurant business starts from the kitchen. If the cooks are not trained properly, you're not going to be successful," he said.</p><p>Part of the Egg House's success so far — it draws an average of 450 people per day in a restaurant that seats up to 81 people — is that he hired cooks from the Manny's chain, Nikolaidis said.</p><p>And if the customer is not happy with the food, it's up to the manager to make him or her happy by offering to redo the order or offering another dish, said Nikolaidis, who walks the floor frequently checking on customers.</p><p>The success of Manny's Chophouse did not mean his father and uncle gave the younger Nikolaidis a free pass in the restaurant business, he said.</p><p>Beginning at age 15, Mike Nikolaidis worked as a dishwasher, then a food preparer, cook, bartender and server, he said. Then he began helping his father manage the Lake Wales Manny's, including menu creation, ordering food and handling employees.</p><p>Still, creating a chain of restaurants serving only breakfast and lunch remains a daunting challenge, said Larry Ross, a business professor at Florida Southern College and former restaurant owner and consultant. Return on investment is one of the big challenges because restaurants don't make that much money on breakfast and lunch.</p><p>"Dinner is a longer meal. "We're willing to pay more for dinner because it's longer and customers will buy desserts, drinks and other things," Ross said. "It just doesn't generate enough profit to finance growth."</p><p>The few breakfast-lunch chains that have been s uccessful, such as the First Watch restaurant based in Bradenton or Another Broken Egg Cafe, a national chain out of Louisiana, choose locations in higher-income areas, often near a Whole Foods supermarket or Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that also attracts the high-end customer, he said.</p><p>This allows those restaurants to offer costlier, high-end breakfasts, such as the Broken Egg Cafe in Destin, whose menu lists a "lobster et fromage" omelet for $15, according to its website. </p><p>The chain has six Panhandle locations and plans to open a Winter Park restaurant in January.</p><p>By contrast, restaurants like the Egg House rely on breakfasts and lunches less than $10 and quick turnaround of the tables, Ross said.</p><p>Still, he added, some chains have found success in breakfast, notably McDonald's, which generates 40 percent of its revenue from the day's first meal.</p><p>"They do it fast, and they do it inexpensive," Ross said. "They've mastered the breakfast."</p><p>The Egg House, on the southeast corner of U.S. 27 at the State Road 60 interchange, serves from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.</p>